Post-Graduate Photography Placement - Tomos Wray

Hi. I’m Tomos. Over these last four weeks, I’ve been on a post-graduate photography placement here at the Bishop’s Palace. Having been familiar and involved with the Palace for a large part of my life, I thought that I knew all there was to know about the place, but having worked here for a month, I’ve seen a completely new side to the Palace and what it stands for. Not only have I been incredibly lucky getting to spend time in such a beautiful area filled with gorgeous wildlife, history and art, which has done wonders for my mental health, but I have seen how intrinsic the preservation and celebration of the site is for the Trust, and how it values the generosity of its staff, volunteers and visitors.

I’ve photographed and assisted the garden team with their apple and pear harvest, the Sound Portraits Exhibition in collaboration with Shepton Mallet Flock, assisted in the recording and creation of two recent YouTube videos discussing the change in seasons and the new Great Hall Exhibition, learnt about the conservation efforts when photographing head gardener James Cross’s monthly ‘Walk and Talk’ tour, and have made many presentations and reflective journals on the photos I’ve taken, skills I’ve developed and vital knowledge I’ve gained. Overall, so far, this placement has provided me with a place and project to properly apply myself to post-grad, which has helped me claim back the confidence I had in my creativity and professional competency, and has given me a more directed schedule to work on pursuing my future freelance career.